150: Entertainment and Education, with Mr. Q-U-E (Music Notes)

Today on the show we're talking with LaMar Queen, also known as Mr. Q-U-E, the rapper behind Music Notes, a company that's been having great success providing educational rap songs to schools across the U.S.A.

Educational songs aren't a new idea but Music Notes brings a really fresh take to it, and their songs have been shown to improve test scores in non-music subjects as well as encouraging more responsible attitudes towards schoolwork and peer support for healthier living initiatives.

We must confess that when we first came across Music Notes we thought it was really cool - but we weren't certain it was a good fit for this podcast... Because it's a fascinating musical project - but is it really about musicality? Well, as we dug in we realised that yes, there are some really interesting questions about musicality here that we were excited to pick Mr. Q-U-E's brains on. You'll find there are big learning points in this interview for any musician wanting to connect more deeply with music.

We talk about:

• Why music is so powerful as a channel for learning

• The challenges of writing a song that has an impact beyond just entertainment

• How Mr. Q-U-E got started freestyle rapping - and a simple way you can try it yourself

We're really impressed with the work Mr. Q-U-E's doing with his team at Music Notes and it was cool to hear his thoughts on how their projects are influencing young minds both for their musical development and their education and upbringing outside of music. We all have a tendency to get stuck in the weeds and the nitty-gritty of learning music, so we hope this episode will do for you what it did for us, which was to serve as a great reminder of the magic of music and just how impactful it can be.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 150

Links and Resources

• Music Notes Online

• Music Notes on Facebook

• Mr. Q-U-E's instructional music videos

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